Scanning Gone Wrong!

Future scanning is not easy. We make educated guesses and adjust our tactics as things unfold.

Here are some of my favorite examples of scanning that weren't quite on:

• Next Christmas the iPod will be finished, dead, gone kaput - Lord Alan Sugar, 2005

• The Internet would soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse - Robert Metcalfe, 3Com Digital Electronics Company Founder, 1995

• The Beatles have no future in show business. We don't like their sounds, and guitar music is on the way out - Decca Records, 1962

• I think there is a world market for maybe five computers - IBM Chairman, 1943

• Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop—because women like to get out of the house, like to handle merchandise, like to be able to change their minds - Time, 1966

• Rock 'n Roll will be gone by June - Variety, 1955

• Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night -  Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, 1946

• There is no chance that the iPhone will get any significant market share - Microsoft CEO, 2007

• A rocket will never be able to leave the earth's atmosphere - New York Times, 1936

• There is no danger that Titanic will sink - Phillip Franklin, White Star Line VP, 1912 

• There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home - President, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

The bottom line is this - no one is perfect. Do your best at scanning and create options for what to do as the trend develops. Don't stick with one idea, be flexible.

I hope you enjoyed these examples. I'd love to hear from you in the comment section!